March 5-11: Mayhem in Karachi; 2 U.S. Envoys Are Killed As Violence Spirals

By JOHN F. BURNS

Published: March 12, 1995

In hindsight, the miserable moments that ended the lives of two American consular officials last week did not seem so surprising. Signs of virulently anti-American feelings had been surfacing on the fundamentalist fringes of Pakistani politics for many months. And Karachi has long been wracked by a daily round of politically-inspired, drive-by killings. After the gunmen emptied their magazines into the consulate's minivan, with its yellow consular corps plate and the number 64, denoting the United States, the United States Ambassador, John C. Monjo, said that precautions for consulate staff had been "continually tightened" in response to Karachi's violence. "With the assistance of police and others, we are taking yet further measures," he said.

But as the consulate's staff handled the grim aftermath of the killings of Jackie Van Landingham, a 33-year-old secretary, and Gary C. Durell, a 45-year-old communications specialist at the consulate, the State Department seemed sure to review policies that have allowed American diplomats to move freely about Karachi and other increasingly violent Pakistani cities. One option under consideration was to send American diplomatic families home.

But for many in Karachi, there was no choice. On Friday, weekly prayers for Shiite Muslim believers became a bloodbath as attackers set off a bomb at a prayer hall, then fired on the believers, killing at least 11 and wounding 22, including several children who had been begging at the gate. This brought the toll in the city for the first 70 days of 1995 to more than 300 dead. JOHN F. BURNS